50 Real Food Apple Recipes + Super Easy Apple Crisp

Crunchy apples, spiced apples, tart apples, sweet apples… It’s apple season! Celebrate fall’s bounty with a naturally-sweetened, super easy apple crisp recipe, plus 50 other real food apple recipes!

It’s apple season!

We recently spent a wonderful week in Montana visiting family. We loved every minute of the mountain vistas, wildlife, and… apples from my grandparents’ apple trees!

If I’m honest, visiting my grandparents is like stepping into fairyland. It’s beautiful, it’s peaceful, and there are edibles everywhere: plum trees, apple trees, grape vines, and a delightful jungle of a garden.

I couldn’t wait to start picking apples, and at the first sunny opportunity, that’s exactly what we did.

Now that we’re home, laden with boxes of apples, I’m left wondering what to do with all of this bounty. Maybe you’re in the same boat?

Thankfully, I have a delicious, homemade apple crisp recipe to share with you (I’ve been perfecting it all summer)… along with 50 other amazing apple recipes! All are real food, naturally sweetened, and prepared traditionally for best nutrition and easy digestion.

From breakfast to dessert, and even holiday drinks, we have you covered!

Enjoy!

How To Make Easy Apple Crisp

This recipe takes 10 minutes of prep… and in the oven it goes for another 30 minutes! It couldn’t get easier, or yummier.

I keep sprouted flour and pre-soaked oats on hand for impromptu baking, since these traditional preparation methods enhance nutrition and make for gentle digestion. Learn how to sprout your own grain for flour here, and how to soak and dehydrate oats here.

If sprouting and soaking aren’t options for you, feel free to use your usual flour and rolled oats. This recipe works equally well either way.

Preparing The Apples…

First, pick your apples. My grandparents grow Goodland apples and crabapples, so that’s what I used. You can use whichever apple variety you prefer!

Preheat your oven.

Wash, core, and cut up your apples into 2-inch chunks. No need to peel them.

Spread the apple chunks out into a large 9×13″ casserole dish.

Sprinkle flour over top of the apples, and stir until all is evenly distributed and coated.

Making The Apple Crisp Topping…

In a mixing bowl, combine additional flour, pre-soaked oats, sugar, spices, and melted butter or coconut oil. I like this crisp on the not-so-sweet side, but you can increase the sweetener if desired.

Stir topping until combined. Spread evenly over apples.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and apples are cooked through.

Serve apple crisp warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or drizzle of raw cream, if desired.

Apple Breakfasts

Image courtesy of Nourished Kitchen. 

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day… and it doesn’t get better than something warm, steaming, and stuffed full of apples!

I make a batch of apple-cinnamon baked oatmeal for my family every week. It’s the reason breakfast is such a highly anticipated affair in my house.

If oatmeal isn’t your jam, there are plenty of high-protein options for you here, too!

• Apple-Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal (a family favorite!)
• Apple Dutch Baby Pancake with Sprouted Einkorn Flour
• Delicata Squash, Apple, Pork and Bacon Breakfast Casserole (Whole30, AIP, egg-free, Paleo)
• Apple-Delicata Squash Porridge – an easy Instant Pot Recipe {GF, Paleo, AIP, GAPS}
• AIP Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Muffins {egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free~ autoimmune protocol!)
• Apple, Leek & Bacon Breakfast Sausage
• Baked Apples Stuffed with Oatmeal
• Easy & Nourishing Soaked Apple Breakfast Cake (gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free option)
• Healthy Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Cookies : Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, & Paleo Friendly!

Apple Snacks

Snacks are a tricky category…

They can’t be overly sweet, but they have to be yummy. They should be at least somewhat nutritious.

Above all, they should be *FUN* to eat.

Take a moment to scan this list! Each recipe fits the bill, doesn’t it?

Not gonna lie, I have my eye on that apple cinnamon granola recipe!

• Soaked Apple Cinnamon Muffins
• How to Dehydrate Apples
• Apple Pie Popcorn
• How to Make Oven-Dried Apple Chips (Seasoned 5 Different Ways)
• Applesauce WITH Peels – Blender Recipe
• Paleo Maple Apple-Cinnamon No-Bake Treats (top 8 allergy-free & 5 ingredients!)
• Grain Free Apple Cinnamon Granola

Apple Sides

Image courtesy of Raia’s Recipes. 

Story time!

When my son was 10 months old, I gave him our fermented apple chutney for the first time, not quite sure what to expect. Would he like the peppery flavor?

Well… he loved it so much he ate almost an entire quart of it. Spoonful after spoonful!

Finally I had to stop him because his tummy was so huge, and who knows what such vast amounts of chutney will do to such a small person?!

(Turns out, nothing bad! And he thrilled to his core 😉 every time I brought out the jar of it after that!)

Apple chutney is just one of six amazing apple side dishes I’ve compiled here for you. I know you’ll love at least one of them as much as my son loves apple chutney!

• Fermented Cranberry-Orange-Apple Relish
• 5-Spice Apple Chutney {lacto-fermented!}
• Red Cabbage Coleslaw with Apple & Carrot (No Mayo)
• Easy Naturally Fermented Apple Salsa Recipe
• Sautéed Apples
• Spiced Apple Butter in the Instant Pot

Apple Main Dishes

Image courtesy of Tessa the Domestic Diva. 

Dinner is probably the last meal you’d think to add apples to, but if it’s apple season, you’ve gotta go all out. Apples for dinner it is!

Thankfully, there are a lot of creative ways to incorporate apple into main dishes. It pairs deliciously with any of the lighter meats: chicken, turkey, or pork. Not to mention root veggies or squashes!

• Super Simple Pork Chop, Sweet Potato, and Apple Skillet
• Turkey, Apples and Onions Hash (a 1-pan meal) — Paleo, AIP, GAPS, Whole30
• Stuffed Acorn Squash with Beef, Apple & Rice
• Savory Chicken and Apples
• Creamy Paleo Pumpkin Soup – Dairy Free
• Creamy Root Vegetable Soup – dairy free, paleo, with low carb and AIP option
• Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

Apple Cake, Pie & Other Dessert Recipes!

Sweet, tart, crunchy, spiced… these apple desserts run the gamut of flavors and textures! There’s something here for everyone, no matter your style. 🙂

• Grain-Free Apple Pie Shortbread Bars With Crumb Topping
• Instant Pot Chai Spiced Apple Cake {grain-free & dairy-free!}
• Applesauce Custard Pie
• Gluten Free Dutch Apple Pie
• Rustic Honey Caramel Apples
• Gourmet Chocolate Caramel Apple Recipe (sugar and dairy free)
• Cinnamon Maple Nut Butter Covered Apples
• Soaked Apple Cider Donuts
• Paleo Baked Apples with Pecan Crumble (Paleo, Primal, GAPS)
• Apple Mint Coconut Butter Bars
• Apple Tart (Grain, Nut, & Dairy Free)
• Probiotic Apple Pie Ice Cream
• Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Apple Cider Recipes & More

I love a good drink — tangy, carbonated ones are my favorite but I’ll never say no to a mug of steaming wassail on a chilly autumn evening, either!

Enjoy the festivity of these delicious fall beverages, and do let me know which one is your favorite!

• Spontaneously Fermented Sparkling Apple Cider {fall’s easiest ferment!}
• Homemade Salted Caramel Hot Apple Cider
• Best EVER Apple Pie Latte + Bonus Recipe
• Apple Pie Smoothie
• Healthy Cranberry Wassail Recipe {the perfect holiday spiced drink}
• Cranberry Apple Switchel

Miscellaneous Apple Recipes

Image courtesy of Healthy Christian Mom. 

This round-up wouldn’t be complete without some home remedies! Use up your apple scraps by making homemade apple cider vinegar, or get ready for flu season with elderberry syrup.

• How to Make Raw Apple Cider Vinegar at Home
• Apple Cinnamon Elderberry Syrup

What is your favorite dessert? Do you prefer baked apples or caramel apples?

Main images courtesy of The Rising Spoon, Traditional Cooking School, Scratch Mommy, and Raia’s Recipes.